The Empire Center at The Egg, a performing arts venue resembling an egg sitting in the northeast corner of Empire State Plaza, was designed by Wallace Harrison and built between 1966 and 1978 under engineer Peter A. Steinborn. The Egg houses two amphitheatres, the 450-seat Lewis A. Swyer Theatre and the 982-seat Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre.
Although it appears to sit on a small platform, the stem that holds The Egg actually goes down through six stories deep into the Earth. The Egg keeps its shape by wearing a girdle - a heavily reinforced concrete beam that was poured along with the rest of the shell. This beam helps transmit The Egg's weight onto the supporting pedestal and gives the structure an ageless durability that belies its nickname. The building's curved exterior defines the interior statement as well. There are virtually no straight lines or harsh corners inside The Egg. Instead, walls along the edge curve upward to meet gently concave ceiling light for celestial effect.
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, commonly known as simply the Empire State Plaza or The South Mall, is a complex of government buildings bordered by Madison Avenue and State Street, Swan Street and Eagle Street.
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